


Crossed Wires

by carissima



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Boys Kissing, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-08
Updated: 2013-09-08
Packaged: 2017-12-25 22:58:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/958611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carissima/pseuds/carissima
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One Direction need a new singer. Harry walks into the band and into Liam's heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crossed Wires

Liam was starting to think that they'd never find a replacement. They'd been stuck in this stupid room all day, auditioning one singer after another and none of them sounded right.

He glared at Louis, who simply shrugged in defeat as the latest hopeful left the room. Number 24 was due any minute and Liam wasn't sure he had the patience or faith left.

"This is all your fault, you know," Liam grumbled loud enough for Louis to hear.

This time last week, they'd had a lead singer. Ed had been great, he was an amazing singer, he was laid back and he'd gotten on with all of them. Perhaps a little too well, in Louis' case. At one of Louis and Liam's parties last Friday, Ed had gotten wankered and tried to kiss Louis, confessing his love and devotion. Louis hadn't .. well, he hadn't reciprocated in quite the way Ed had hoped and it had led to Ed storming out of their flat, declaring himself to be quitting One Direction and none of them had heard from him since.

So yes, after 23 rejected auditions, five hours and counting stuck in the studio space above their local bar and with tempers fraying, Liam _did_ blame Louis for the whole miserable mess.

"Look, I can't help it if men find me irresistible," Louis teased, but it was half-hearted at best. Liam could see his heart wasn't in it and it made Liam feel slightly guilty. Guilty enough to reach out and put his hand on Louis' shoulder. Louis must have been feeling guilty as well because he didn't even try to shrug Liam off or make a snarky comment. Liam let his hand stay there as the next singer walked in.

He was tall, was Liam's first thought. Lanky was probably the right adjective he realised as he took in the long limbs and skinny black jeans, loose black t-shirt and brown boots. As he studied the newcomer's face, he realised that he could see curls underneath his beanie. Cute face, he thought dispassionately, because the reality of their life was that looks mattered. He didn't have to like that fact, but it existed nonetheless.

The boy shifted nervously as he stood on the cross Niall had taped to the floor that morning and faced the four lads staring back at him from behind a table. Liam had protested, said that it felt too much like a reality TV show and would make the auditionees too nervous, but he'd been overruled, so here they were.

"Hey, what's your name?" Zayn asked, breaking the silence.

"Harry," the boy replied, glancing up and Liam realised his eyes were green and quite beautiful. He might call them soulful if he was feeling poetic, which he definitely wasn't after entering the sixth hour of being stuck in this stupid, small, horribly decorated room that they called a studio now and again.

"Okay, Harry, we're One Direction and we've just lost our lead singer," Louis explained and his tone had Liam looking up sharply. He knew that tone. That tone lead to trouble. Every. Single. Time. "We're due to record our second album in two months and that means we need a replacement lead, like yesterday. We've heard a lot of singers and we're losing the will to live because they've all sucked. Please don't suck."

Liam groaned silently. He saw Zayn roll his eyes. And he saw Harry's eyes widen.

"What Louis means is, please go ahead whenever you're ready, no pressure," Liam said as he leaned forward, offering Harry a friendly smile.

Harry stared at Liam before he returned the smile and Liam had to stop himself from reacting. When Harry smiled, his eyes lit up and he looked goddamn angelic, except he also somehow looked like pure temptation. Jesus, the audience would devour Harry. He crossed his fingers under the table, praying that Harry could at least hold a tune of some sort.

When Harry cleared his throat and hummed a few bars, Liam was surprised to realise that he planned to sing Stevie Wonder. Most of the singers they'd seen had tried out with Coldplay, Maroon 5, Justin Bieber (it had been painful) or Usher.

From the first two notes, Liam knew they'd hit the jackpot. He tried to contain his grin but he couldn't help it. He glanced over at the rest of the boys and saw identical grins down the line. Harry's voice was husky and velvety, all at once. He sung flawlessly and Liam leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands, losing himself in Harry's song.

As Harry finished the last notes of Isn't She Lovely, Liam locked eyes with Harry and he couldn't help winking, which caused Harry to flush. Liam wasn't sure he'd ever seen anything so beautiful.

Niall was rushing out of his seat to grab Harry's hands and he started to jump around in a circle, dragging a bemused Harry with him. "Harry! Mate, you are amazing! You have to join the band," he begged shamelessly.

"Oh, uh ..." Harry stuttered, trying not to fall over his own feet as Niall wrapped him up in a bear hug.

"Say yes," Niall pleaded, his head burying into Harry's shoulder.

"Uh, I'd love to join the band," Harry managed to say as Niall squeezed him tightly and let out a whoop of joy. "Uh, shouldn't you discuss this, like, together, with me not in the room first?"

"Nah," Louis said, reaching the boys and dragging Niall off Harry. Harry cast him a grateful look. "We've been together long enough to communicate silently. You're in."

Louis offered his hand and Harry shook it, a smile spreading across his cherubic face. "I'm Louis. And this bear that mauled you is Niall."

"Nice to meet you," Harry said, grinning at Niall who loped his arm around Louis as they beamed at Harry together.

"Zayn." He offered his hand and Harry shook it.

"And I'm Liam." He stepped forward and ignored protocol, not offering Harry his hand but reached out to clasp his shoulder. "We owe you big time for coming by, we were almost giving up hope."

"I'll go let the others know they're not needed," Zayn said quietly before heading out the door.

"Oh thank God, I really didn't want to do that," Niall exhaled with a broad grin. "So Harry, what's your story?"

"Oh, uh, I work at a bakery down on Ware Street, been there about three years now, trying to find singing work on the side but not really getting anywhere," Harry confessed, looking down at his feet and shuffling adorably. "Saw your ad in the paper and thought I'd give it a try, figured the worst you could do was laugh hysterically and say no."

"Yeah, we only do that with crap singers," Louis said with a straight face.

Liam elbowed him and frowned. "No we don't."

"Nah, we wait til they leave," Niall stage-whispered to Harry, who laughed. "Let's go downstairs and get proper acquainted, yeah?"

"That sounds like a plan, Nialler," Louis agreed, linking his arm to Niall's before they headed out the door and downstairs.

That left Liam with Harry. Liam turned quickly and started gathering all their stuff together, leaving it in a tidy pile on the table before turning back to Harry, who was just watching him with those soulful eyes of his.

"So," Liam started and then paused, realising that he had no idea what to say. "Um, shall we go join them?"

Harry nodded and followed Liam down to the bar. The others were at a table already with five pints lined up. "Uh, do you drink?" Liam thought to ask belatedly as they walked towards them.

"If I didn't, would it be a problem?" Harry asked and Liam frowned.

"Not a problem, no, but Niall might stop being so friendly and start being more suspicious of your motives," Liam answered honestly.

"Then I guess it's a good thing I do drink," Harry said in that slow drawl Liam was starting to recognise.

Liam shrugged, thinking that Harry was a little strange, before sliding in next to Zayn, which left Harry no choice but to sit next to Louis, who immediately launched into a massive fact-finding conversation with Harry that involved questions that were far too personal. Liam listened with half an ear as he chatted to Zayn, impressed with Harry's ability to effortlessly field questions he didn't want to answer without Louis getting upset and changing the subject easily enough if Louis got too inquisitive.

After three hours of drinking, they'd learned that Harry was 24 like them, he lived two streets away from Liam and Louis' flat; five streets away from Zayn and Niall's place, he came from Holmes Chapel, moved to London when he was 21, he'd been to two of their gigs and knew most of their songs from their first, little-known album, his parents were divorced and his mum had remarried, he had a sister who he had no intention of introducing them to and his idol was Mick Jagger.

Louis, at some point, had slung his arm around Harry. Zayn had nudged Liam when Louis inched closer to Harry and they'd shared A Look.

A Look that meant they'd have to keep an eye on Louis and make sure that what happened with Ed didn't happen again. Louis was using his Tone and his Moves. Harry had only been in the band three hours and Louis was already moving in. Luckily, Harry seemed to be unaware that Louis was monopolising him, so Liam figured it was a good time to drag Louis home.

"But I don't wanna go!" Louis whined as Liam, Zayn and Niall all got up and made moves to leave.

"Yeah, but we do," Liam pointed out reasonably.

Harry slid out of his seat and grabbed his coat, giving Louis an apologetic look as he wrapped up against the cold weather.

"Oh, fine," Louis huffed, reaching out his hands to Liam, who rolled his eyes good-naturedly before yanking him up. "But only because we need to start early tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Harry echoed, his face folding into a frown as they made their way out of the bar.

"Gotta start practicing if we're going to start recording in eight weeks," Niall said happily as he slung his arm though Zayn's. Zayn muttered something but didn't move away.

"But I've got work in the morning," Harry said, biting his lip and looking worried.

"Just tell them you quit, or don't turn up," Louis said, slipping his arm around Liam and leaning into him. Liam realised Louis was drunker than he'd thought and automatically shifted his weight so that he was half carrying Louis home.

"It's fine," Liam told Harry. "What time do you finish?"

"Four," Harry said, his voice reflecting his relief. "I can hand in my notice, but I'll have to work for the next two weeks."

"Two weeks!" Louis huffed, his facing screwing up into a look of disgust. "How are we going to record if our lead singer has to go bake cookies every day?"

"We'll manage," Liam said firmly. "It'll be worth it."

Harry beamed at Liam and Liam almost stumbled, taking Louis with him as he faltered at the brilliance of Harry's smile. He managed to keep them both upright and muttered an apology to Louis, who was grousing about the quality of crutches these days. Jesus. What was wrong with him? Since when had a _smile_ made him fumble so badly?

"This is me," Harry announced as they came to a stop on his street. "I - uh, I'm so glad I turned up today."

"Us too, Harold," Louis said, leaning forward and plastering a sloppy kiss on Harry's cheek. Liam noticed Harry's flush and for some reason, it annoyed him. They really couldn't afford any more intraband relationships going wrong, not if they were going to build on the success (albeit minor) of their first album. He'd speak to Louis when he was sober and he'd make sure Harry knew that Louis was off-limits. God, he didn't even know if Harry _liked_ boys.

"Give us your phone, Harry," Niall reached forward and grabbed Harry's handset out of his hands. He typed quickly before handing it back. "That's all of our numbers. Keep 'em safe. We'll text you tomorrow where to meet and what time."

"It'll be our flat and as soon as you've finished work," Louis stage-whispered and Harry was laughing again.

Liam was unamused.

"We'll text you our address," was all he said, before offering Harry a tight smile and dragging a protesting Louis away.

Liam heard Niall and Zayn saying goodnight before they caught up with them.

"Bit rude, mate," was all Zayn said.

Liam said nothing but when he looked at Zayn, he subtly jerked his head towards Louis. Zayn shrugged, clearly understanding but unconcerned.

After he'd managed, with some difficulty, to get Louis into bed, Liam headed to his own room and quickly stripped before sliding under his covers. He picked up his phone to set an alarm and saw he had a text.

Really happy I auditioned today. Thanks for choosing me. Harry .xx

Liam bit his lip and quickly shot a text back.

Yea not even a choice u were that gudddd, cu tomozzz! x

With a smile, Liam laid down and closed his eyes, foolishly happy.

During the next two weeks, they worked around Harry's schedule, practicing well into the night every night and then crashing around 2am and Liam didn't know how Harry managed it, seeing as he started work at 8am. But it had been obvious to Liam and all the lads how serious Harry was about being a musician. He'd already known their current material and it hadn't taken long to fall into a rhythm. Harry was the one who wanted to stay when the rest of them wanted to fall into bed. Liam practically had to force Harry to leave each morning. The first weekend, they didn't leave Liam and Louis' flat, spending the day practicing, sleeping, ordering takeout and bonding.

Liam and Louis had been best mates since school. Louis had walked in on their first day, taken one look at Liam, sat next to him and never left. They'd made friends with Zayn the first night they'd moved into their flat, they'd headed to the nearest bar, which was now their local, Louis had tried to pick Zayn up with no success but they'd been friends ever since. When they'd first decided to create One Direction, they realised that they'd need a guitarist. Louis was a drummer, Zayn was a pianist, who also played the keyboard and Liam played bass. They'd found Niall completely by accident on the underground. He was busking and while Louis and Zayn had walked past him without paying much attention, Liam had paused. He'd dropped some change in Niall's empty guitar case and stayed, listened to the blonde playing guitar so beautifully. Louis and Zayn had backtracked once they'd realised they'd lost Liam and soon Louis was talking Niall into joining up with them to form One Direction. Ed had originally been a friend of Niall's and after years of gigging and demos, they'd finally landed a deal with a small, independent studio. Their first album had done modestly well and their gigs had garnered larger audiences. Then Ed had run out on them and they'd wound up here.

Louis and Harry had become close very quickly. Liam wasn't quite sure how it happened, but within a few days, they were laughing and teasing each other like they'd known each other for years.

Liam wasn't jealous.

He really wasn't, but the more time Louis spent with Harry, the less time he spent with Liam and Liam missed his best friend, that was all. For the first time in over 10 years, he felt on the outside, when he'd spent all that time right in the centre, him and Louis against the world, before it became Liam and Louis and Zayn and Niall against the world. Right now, it felt like Louis and Harry, not _against_ Liam exactly but certainly he wasn't included in their jokes and their little dates that they had alone and fuck, Liam wasn't jealous.

He thought he'd like Harry just fine, he'd seemed nice and sweet and eager to be part of the band. And his voice was like pure husky honey. Liam got chills every time he sang. But the more time he spent with Louis, the more annoyed Liam got. He was even more annoyed because Zayn didn't understand what Liam's problem was. Zayn and Harry got on fine.

Funnily enough, Niall also found Harry annoying. Niall, who got along with everyone, happy foolish Irishman that he was, could be found with Liam more often than not during their practices, muttering about how annoying Harry's hair was and that he and Louis should just fuck already, which really pissed Liam off because they couldn't afford to have another personal relationship fuck up the band.

Niall and Liam managed to keep their bitching to themselves (and sometimes Zayn, who mostly ignored them) until the second weekend, when Harry had worked his last shift at the bakery and they could dedicate their full time now on their new material.

So of course, the first thing Louis suggested was to go out and get wasted.

Niall was quick to agree, because he was always up for drinking, and Zayn shrugged in consent, which meant everyone was looking at Liam and who was he to protest?

They met at the bar where Louis lined up shots. They all downed the first easily enough, but Liam begged off any other rounds and stuck to beer, as did Niall. Harry had two more shots before following the boys onto beer and Zayn just sat nursing his one beer, as usual. Louis was half drunk before they made it to a table, but that was just Louis.

Liam was fully prepared to sit between Zayn and Niall so that he could spend the night bitching about Harry and maybe Louis, but somehow Louis had fallen between Niall and Zayn and Harry sat next to Niall, which meant the only place left in the booth was next to Harry.

Liam could feel Harry watching him as he hesitated before he took a seat. Great.

"I don't bite," Harry said with a smile, nudging Liam gently.

Liam raised a smile. "Uh, no, I know. I just thought you'd want to sit with Louis."

"Nah, I spend enough time with Louis, it's nice to see the rest of you," Harry said with a grin. "Besides, Louis' drunk and I've learnt the hard way that Louis gets handsy when he's drunk."

Well, he guessed that answered that question about Harry's sexuality, Liam thought. If Harry was gay, he'd totally be into Louis and he wouldn't mind Louis getting tactile.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Liam murmured. "He's always been like that."

"So you've been friends for a long time, huh?" Harry asked, shifting so that he was facing Liam so that it looked like they were having their own conversation. Which Liam figured that they were.

"Yeah, since the first day of school. He just sat next to me in class and never really went away," Liam said, glancing fondly at Louis.

"So you two, have you, uh, do you, I mean, together ..." Harry trailed off, his cheeks flushing, which Liam had learned happened quite a bit with Harry.

"Oh no, never," Liam laughed. "We know each other too well. He's more like an annoying little brother who won't leave me alone."

"I think it's nice to have someone like that," Harry said wistfully. "I'm envious."

"You're more than welcome to him," Liam offered with a slight smile. "He's all yours."

They looked over to Louis who was slumped on Niall's shoulder, dozing already.

"Uh, no thanks?" Harry chuckled as he turned back towards Liam and Liam thought Harry might be the most beautiful creature that he'd ever seen. "Another round?"

Shaking off the thought, Liam glanced down and saw his pint was almost empty. "Sure. Get one for Niall too. Zayn won't want one and Louis shouldn't have another one."

"Okay." Harry got up and headed to the bar.

"Best mates with Styles now?" Niall leaned in, careful not to jostle Louis, who was now cuddled into Niall's side.

Liam rolled his eyes. "No, course not. But maybe he's not so bad."

Niall started making kissy face noises at Liam who just shoved his face back. "Shut up."

Liam turned back towards the bar, considering going to help Harry with the drinks even though he really doesn't need it because who can't carry three drinks, when he caught sight of them. Harry was talking to a girl at the bar and she was virtually hanging off his every word. Harry said something and Liam watched the girl throw back her head and laugh loudly.

He's not that funny, Liam thought sourly to himself.

He watched the girl put her hand on Harry's chest and Harry moved closer, bending down to say something in her ear and suddenly Liam was on his feet.

"Think it's probably time to take Tommo home," he announced.

Niall jerked round, frowning. "What? It's still early."

"Look at him, he's out of it," Liam gestured towards Louis who was mumbling near Niall's ear.

Liam could have sworn he saw Niall shiver, but he figured Louis had probably just tickled him by accident or something.

"I'll help you then," Niall sighed as he leant down to gently wake Louis up.

"Shnurgle," Louis muttered as he wrapped his arm around Niall's waist.

"No snuggle, you idiot," Niall said, rather gently, Liam thought in surprise. "Let's get you home."

"You wannnnna take me t'bed?" Louis giggled as his eyes opened and focused on Niall.

"Well, strictly speaking I suppose," Niall grumbled, rolling his eyes at Liam, who grinned.

He grabbed Louis' arm and helped Niall shuffle him out.

"Hey, what's going on?" Harry appeared at Liam's side and put the drinks on the table.

"Niall wants to take me t'bed," Louis whispered loudly, leaning towards Harry and almost pitching headfirst into the table, rescued only by Niall and Liam holding on tight.

"Oh."

Liam heard the disappointment in Harry's voice and suddenly all he wanted to do was get some fresh air. The alcohol in his system was messing with his mind, because on the one hand, he thought Harry was straight and flirting with the girl at the bar, but on the other hand, he sounded annoyed that Louis was going home. Well, Liam didn't care one way or the other, _really he didn't_ , he just didn't want to deal with any fallout if Louis and Harry did end up together.

He ignored the sick feeling in his stomach at the thought and hauled Louis towards the door. "You two coming or staying?"

"Coming, I guess," Zayn muttered, following them. "Sorry about the drinks, Harry."

"Oh, that's okay," Harry said easily and left them behind.

When it became apparent that Louis wanted to just hang off of Niall on the way home, Liam gave Niall an apologetic shrug and moved back, letting Niall slip both arms around Louis so that he could half-drag, half-carry Louis home.

Liam found himself next to Harry as they followed the boys, Liam keeping a close eye on Louis weaving around but Niall seemed to have him mostly under control.

"Is there something going on there?" Harry asked quietly.

Liam resisted the urge to roll his eyes for what felt like the millionth time that evening. "Harry, band relationships are a bad idea," Liam felt like now was as good a time as any to get his point across. He didn't care how bad a crush Harry might have on Louis, asking all these questions about Louis' love life was just going to lead to trouble for all of them. "They always end badly and someone gets hurt and it always leads to the band suffering. This stupid band means everything to all of us and I won't let anything get in the way of that. You know?"

Liam felt Harry staring at him and he finally raised his eyes. Harry looked pained, as if his heart had just been crushed. Even though Liam wanted to pretend he couldn't see it, wanted to pretend that he didn't care about Harry's crush on Louis, he couldn't help himself reaching out to pat Harry awkwardly on the arm. Harry jerked away and Liam slowly lowered his arm, suddenly feeling very cold.

"Okay, I get it," Harry said slowly and Liam could hear the hurt in his voice. "Message understood, Liam."

Liam still felt compelled to comfort Harry. He slung his arm around the taller boy and let his hand squeeze his shoulder when he felt Harry tense up. He didn't move his arm though and eventually Harry softened and even turned in towards Liam a bit. Liam offered him a gentle smile and after a few moments of Harry staring at him, Harry lifted his lips into an answering smile.

"No harm in flirting though, right Liam?"

Liam couldn't control the jerk of his body and he knew Harry felt him stiffen, since Harry was practically curled up against him.

"I mean, flirting is harmless, yeah?"

Liam kept his eyes forward and thankfully saw Harry's road just ahead. "I guess," he said slowly.

"Goodnight, Liam," Harry said softly and Liam swore he felt Harry nuzzle into his neck slightly before moving away to say his goodbyes to the rest of the band, but he must have imagined it because there was no way Harry Styles, cute as a button, was _nuzzling_ his neck. He'd probably just been more drunk than Liam had realised, Liam reasoned as he fell into step with Zayn. Yeah, just his wild imagination.

The next morning, Liam woke up to the sound of his doorbell ringing constantly.

Cursing, he stumbled out of bed, rubbing his hand across his face in an effort to wake himself up and headed for the front door. Just as he reached for the handle, he realised he was only dressed in shorts, but since he was being so rudely awakened, whoever was calling would just have to deal with his state of undress.

Yanking the door back, he stared wordlessly at Harry, whose gaze travelled down Liam's body and seemed to be staring right back.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Harry grinned as he lifted his eyes to meet Liam's.

"What time is it?" Liam grumbled as he spied the takeout coffees in Harry's hands.

"Past ten," Harry said, moving forward as if to come in, forcing Liam to stand back. "Thought I'd come over early, bring coffee and breakfast and see if Louis would be halfway decent before we start today."

Liam felt Harry brush past him and he shivered. Ignoring the feeling, he swiped a coffee from Harry's carry tray and lifted it to his lips, sighing in contentment as he inhaled it. "God that's good. I'm almost tempted to forgive you for waking me up."

Harry shot a smile back at Liam over his shoulder as he headed into the kitchen, completely at ease with Liam and Louis' flat by now. "Why don't you wake up Sleeping Beauty and I'll get breakfast ready? Then you'll not only forgive me, but be begging me to wake you up like this every morning."

Liam felt his body react to the thought of waking up to Harry every morning and he silently swore. Harry didn't mean that as it sounded, Liam told himself, willing himself to calm down and trying to force his heart rate to slow down, he probably meant when Harry crawled out of Louis' bed in the morning. He wiped his clammy hands on his shorts and realised that he needed a cold shower, pronto.

"You wake up Louis," Liam grumbled. "I'm need a shower."

When Liam emerged from the shower, more relaxed and feeling better equipped to deal with Harry, he grabbed his coffee and headed towards the kitchen. He found Harry laughing at Louis, who was slumped at the table, one hand around his coffee and the other holding a bacon sandwich, half-eaten.

"Morning sunshine," Liam said as he ruffled Louis' hair, grinning when Louis managed to make a half-assed groaning protest and moved away from Liam's tricky fingers. "Feeling okay?"

"What happened?" he asked as he lifted his head, pouting sadly at his flatmate.

"Well, you got hammered and then tried to force Niall to share your bed," Liam said, swiping his own bacon sandwich and winked at Harry in thanks. "Then you fell face first on your bed and passed out. I'm still not sure if Niall was happy to avoid your grabby hands or slightly pissed at how easily you changed your mind."

Louis blew his hair out of his eyes and took another bite of his sandwich. "Hmm. What time are they getting here?"

Liam checked his watch. "About twenty minutes. Enough time for you to shower and figure out some kind of apology for poor Niall. You spent about ten minutes last night playing hide and seek with his crotch."

Harry let out a giggle. He tried to cover his mouth but the mirth in his eyes gave him away.

"Shit." Louis groaned and stood up carefully, heading out of the kitchen. "I'm never going to hear the end of this."

"Oh, I'm so annoyed that I missed that," Harry said, letting his hand drop and giving in to his laughter.

"Niall didn't find it quite so funny," Liam said quietly. Niall's behaviour was definitely off lately, and Liam knew he needed to find out what was wrong with his favourite Irishman, but that was for another time when Liam could get him alone.

"No, I don't suppose he did," Harry agreed, taking a seat next to Liam, brushing his arm against Liam's as he reached for his own breakfast.

Liam moved back slightly. "Thanks for bringing food. Louis will appreciate it in about three hours when his hangover passes."

"Oh, no problem," Harry said lightly. "Glad to help."

"So do you think you'll be ready for our first gig tonight?" Liam asked, sitting back in his chair and regarding Harry thoughtfully.

"Um, I guess so," Harry said, avoiding Liam's gaze. "I'm nervous."

"Everyone's always nervous before a gig," Liam confessed. "I still feel sick before I start playing the first note, then when the crowd starts to sing along or jump around, that feeling passes and it's just fucking amazing."

Harry lifted his eyes to meet Liam's and stared wistfully at him. "You love it, don't you?"

"Always have," Liam said, his expression softening and his eyes misting over. "No point doing something if you don't love it. There's no feeling that comes close to performing to people and having them sing back at you or watching them falling in love to a song you've written or played."

Harry didn't say anything, but he reached out and grabbed Liam's hand. Surprised, Liam let Harry curl his fingers around his own and felt Harry squeeze his hand. Bemused, he looked up to find Harry staring intently at him. He was about to squeeze back when he heard the doorbell go.

Slowly, Liam dragged his gaze from Harry's and gently detangled their hands before standing up. "Not like Niall and Zayn to be early," was all he said as he went to the door.

"Smells like bacon." Niall headed straight for the kitchen, giving Liam a welcoming pat on the way.

"Harry texted Niall about breakfast," Zayn explained.

When Louis finally emerged from his room, he and Niall spent most of the day avoiding each other as they ran through their set-list for tonight over and over again. Nerves were high as it was the first performance for them as a band and Harry couldn't seem to get through any of the songs without singing the wrong words or going off-key.

Finally, Liam called a halt to the practice and told everyone to go home and get ready and they'd meet at six at the venue. It was only an intimate gig of about a couple hundred fans, so they wouldn't be totally humiliated if anything (or everything) went wrong. Niall and Zayn fled, eager to get away from the weird tension between Niall and Louis, and Louis headed straight for his room, slamming the door on the way.

Harry stood, about to leave when Liam grabbed his wrist to stop him. Harry turned, a confused look on his face.

"Look, don't stress so much," Liam said softly. "When you're on stage, the right words will come and your voice will hold. I promise."

"What if it doesn't?" Harry asked in a small voice. "You're all counting on me."

"Because we have faith in you, Harry," Liam said firmly. "You won't let us down. Go home, shower, get dressed and I'll see you at the venue, okay?"

Harry nodded. "Thanks, Liam."

Liam realised he was still holding Harry's wrist. He dropped it quickly and practically raced to the door to wave Harry out. When he closed the door behind him, he fell back against the hard wood and slowly slid to the floor, groaning and dropping his head into his hands.

Harry was driving him crazy. He could admit it now. Every time Harry smiled, Liam's heart skipped. When Harry accidentally brushed up against him, Liam's body temperature rose a few degrees. When Harry did something nice, Liam melted a little and when Harry was nervous and vulnerable, Liam wanted to wrap him in his arms and comfort him. It was driving him crazy, but the most crazy thing about the whole situation was that, while Liam didn't know whether Harry had a mega crush on Louis or if he liked girls or what his deal was, the fact remained that Harry didn't know he was driving Liam crazy, Harry wasn't driving Liam crazy on purpose and probably had no idea what effect him just existing in Liam's world was having on Liam, because people like Harry Styles didn't notice people like Liam Payne - at least not in _that_ way.

Harry was charming and adorable and gorgeous and people gravitated to him. He was interesting and deep and he really cared about everyone he met. Liam was none of those things. Liam was serious and sensible and a bit awkward and he never got the joke and usually he _was_ the joke. He cared about his friends and his family but he never thought about things the way Harry did, never said anything deep or profound and he was certainly not as pretty as Louis, drop-dead gorgeous as Zayn or as natural as Niall. No, Liam's role in the band, and in life, was to be the serious one who made sure they stayed on track, pushed them forward and looked after the rest of the boys.

So no, there was no way that Harry was driving Liam crazy on purpose. Boys were always drawn to Louis, and that's just the way it was. Liam could hardly blame them, Louis was so very beautiful and funny and had a knack of drawing everyone's attention to himself and shining in the spotlight. Everyone noticed Louis.

Liam had to just ignore his little crush on Harry because it was just going to lead to heartbreak some way or another and Liam knew it.

What he had to do was get ready for the show.

Dressed in skinny jeans, a plain white t-shirt and boots, Liam took one last glance in the mirror and shrugged, not really caring about how he looked because everyone's eyes would be drawn to Harry as the front man or Zayn perhaps. Liam realised he hadn't shaved that day but it was too late to care and it was just a bit of scruff across his jawline, so no one would even notice. He knocked on Louis' door, whom he hadn't seen since practice ended and waited patiently.

Louis opened the door and sighed loudly. "How do I look?"

Liam took in the rock t-shirt, black jeans rolled up and toms. He knew this game. "Uh, I'd say you look foxy."

"Excellent, just the look I was going for," Louis declared happily. "Now we can go."

As they walked towards the venue, Liam elbowed Louis gently in the ribs. "You gonna talk to Niall anytime soon?"

"Ugh," was Louis' response. "I think he might have got the wrong idea."

"And what would that be?"

"That I fancy him or something," Louis rolled his eyes. "Seriously, if I was going to invite anyone into my bed, we both know who it'd be."

Liam's stomach lurched. "Yeah, I don't want to go into detail about your sex life, thanks."

"You love hearing the intimate details of my sex life, Liam Payne, and the minute I get that cute lead singer of ours into my bed, you'll be the first to hear all about it," Louis said with a smirk.

Hearing Louis actually voice his plans to get Harry into bed was a thousand times worse than Liam thought it would be. Just the thought of waking up one morning to find Harry coming out of Louis' room caused Liam physical pain. If he saw them kissing or heard them in bed together ... no, he couldn't think about it.

Jesus, he had to move past this crush otherwise it wouldn't be Harry and Louis breaking up the band, but Liam himself.

Once they made it inside the venue, they made their way to the backstage dressing room, which was actually just a bare room with a desk, mirror and a random collection of mismatched chairs. Liam was surprised to find they were the last ones to arrive. He caught Zayn's gaze and raised his eyebrows in question.

"Niall's been like a hyperactive child for the past hour. Thought we'd come early and he could blow off steam here rather than at me," Zayn explained with a shrug.

Niall came bounding across the room and smacked a sloppy kiss on Liam's cheek. "That's what happens when we don't do a live gig in weeks. I can't wait to get out there!"

Louis snuck his hand out and tweaked Niall's nipple, who turned around in outrage before dissolving into giggles. "Let's go check out the equipment," Louis suggested, grabbing Niall's arm and pulling him towards the door. "Zayn?"

Zayn followed them slowly, catching Liam's glance on the way. "We'll talk about those two losers later, yeah?"

Liam nodded before Zayn disappeared from the room. Which left him with Harry. Again.

Liam glanced across at Harry, taking a second closer look when he realised Harry was white as a sheet. Fuck.

"Harry?" Liam called softly, moving slowly towards where Harry was slumped against the wall. "Harry, you okay?"

A pained moan escaped from him and Liam hurried over, putting his arm around Harry as he sat next to him on the floor. "Harry, it' s okay, I promise. We all get sick with nerves before a performance."

"I'm going to be sick," Harry moaned as he bolted up and rushed out the door.

With a sigh, Liam counted to ten to give Harry enough time to actually be sick (and most importantly, time to flush) before he headed to the bathroom. Harry was splashing water on his face and Liam could see his hands were trembling.

"Alright?" Liam asked carefully. The last thing he wanted to do was freak out their singer more than he already was.

"Yeah, just stage fright," Harry said with a small, wry smile. "Probably should have mentioned that I suffer with it, but I was afraid you'd throw me out of the band."

"Nah, you're one of us now," Liam said, moving forward and brushing one of Harry's curls back from his face.

Liam felt Harry stiffen and he moved back quickly, cursing himself silently. What on earth had he been thinking? He'd felt the urge to comfort Harry and had done what he'd done to Louis, Niall and Zayn a million times before, reached out to soothe and touch, but obviously Harry didn't want to be touched by Liam. It was an odd sensation, to have his reassurances rebuffed, because that's what Liam did, he looked after people. Apparently Harry didn't want Liam's reassurances, which was fine, whatever, but Liam couldn't help but feel hurt by it.

"Sorry," he muttered before turning quickly and leaving, heading straight out the door to find the others. When he joined them on stage, he reached over and grabbed Niall, who was closest, and wrapped his arms around him. Without a second thought, Niall stopped what he was doing (trying to tickle Zayn) and returned the hug. Liam sighed and managed to smile. See, this is what he was good at, and the rest of the boys loved him for it. Perhaps it would just take time with Harry.

"This is nice," Niall said, moving closer and stroking Liam's back. "What's up?"

"Just wanted a cuddle," Liam murmured, not willing to let go yet.

"Get a room, you two," Louis called out.

"He's just jealous," Zayn returned.

"Thanks, Nialler," Liam moved back and returned Niall's earlier kiss.

"Hey Harry, don't be shy, come join us."

Liam refused to turn around as Louis shouted towards the door he'd walked through earlier.

"Sorry, didn't want to interrupt."

"There's probably something you should know about us that we've kept well hidden for the past two weeks," Louis said and Liam watched him walk towards Harry and sling his arm around Harry's shoulder. "We're a very tactile bunch. We hug. We're cuddlers. I know what you're thinking, and yes, that even includes Zayn. If you pause every time we're hugging, you'll be forever waiting."

Harry nodded slowly. "I like hugs."

"Excellent," Louis grinned as if that was the answer he'd been waiting for and swooped in to hug him, quickly burying his face in Harry's shoulder. Harry lifted his arms and closed the hug.

Liam scowled. Not five minutes ago Harry was freezing up just because Liam had touched a curl, _a single fucking curl_ , and now he was hugging Louis as if his life depended on it? Well, that sure told him where he stood, didn't it? Not that he should be surprised that Harry preferred Louis, because everyone did, but it still hurt. Liam was the comforter. Niall and Zayn always came to him when they were upset or hurt or angry and Liam listened and calmed and soothed.

"Group hug!" Niall called out and launched himself at the two boys in the middle of the stage. Zayn followed and Liam found himself being dragged into the hug, despite his resistance.

"Tonight is going to be so boss," Niall yelled excitedly from the middle of their huddle.

"If I can manage to sing the right words in the right tune," Harry said self-deprecatingly.

Liam bit his tongue. He'd already tried to soothe Harry's nerves tonight, he wasn't going to open himself up to more rejection, no matter how much it grated not to offer his support.

"You'll be magic," Louis declared, his voice muffled because God knew where he was in the middle of their jumble.

Liam felt a hand cover his own, clutching at it like a lifeline. He looked around and saw it belonged to Harry, even though he couldn't see or find Harry's face. Even knowing that Harry probably thought he was holding Louis' hand, Liam couldn't stop himself from turning his hand around to interlace his fingers with Harry's and hold tight.

They stayed there for about a minute, not moving or talking but drawing on each other's strength.

"Show time," Liam said in a low voice and gradually they stepped back, Liam letting go of Harry's hand reluctantly before Harry realised he wasn't holding onto Louis.

As they stepped back onto the stage 40 minutes later, faced with a crowd of cheering fans, Liam saw Harry falter as the bright lights hit them. He saw Louis whisper something to Harry which made the younger boy laugh and Liam nodded in approval. Liam grabbed his guitar and threw the strap over his head and shoulders and watched Harry reach up to grab the microphone with one hand and the stand with his other, steadying himself.

As the first notes hit, Harry started bouncing and rocking on his heels. He turned slightly and caught Liam's eye. Liam grinned at him, nodding to the beat and winked. Harry let out a shaky laugh then turned back to the crowd before launching into his first line.

It was the best Liam had ever heard Harry sing. He had the crowd going within the first minute and he kept them in the palm of his hand. Liam grinned happily at the rest of the band who all grinned back. This is what they lived for, the performance, the reaction, the pure pleasure of music.

Liam stepped forward during the instrumental to catch Harry's attention, who slung his arm around Liam's shoulders and bopped around as Liam played. He leaned in and whispered in Liam's ear, something along the lines of 'fucking amazing' and 'best feeling ever'. Liam's face lit up and he nodded quickly in agreement before stepping back to the side.

Harry bounced around the stage, song after song, capturing the audience's attention and keeping it focused on him. By the last song, the crowd was going wild and screaming their names, while the boys stepped forward to take their bows. Liam tugged Zayn forward, as he usually did, and made him stand between him and Harry, who was in the middle, before bending at the waist together. They stepped off stage, the cheers still ringing in their ears and they immediately fell into another huddle, laughing and elated.

"Best feeling ever, right Harry?" Louis asked, already knowing the answer.

Harry's eyes were brighter than Liam had ever seen them, his cheeks were flushed and his curls were dishevelled from all the bouncing around. "That was unbelievable."

"It only gets better," Niall told him as they headed back to their dressing room. "It also gets a bit addictive."

"How do you come down from this?" Harry wondered as they gathered their stuff together.

"We go to a bar," Zayn said. "Get drunk. Get laid."

"All wonderful suggestions, Zayn," Louis agreed as he led the way out, grabbing Harry by the arm and linking up to walk out. "Thoughts, Harry?"

"Does it have to be in that order?" Harry asked, his tone thoughtful but his grin was pure mischief.

"Oh, I knew you were going to be trouble, Harry Styles," Louis said gleefully. "Let's get wasted."

Six rounds later at their local and the boys were well and truly on their way to being hammered.

Four sets of eyes were staring at Niall, who was currently making out with some guy at the bar.

"I can't stop staring," Zayn muttered, self-disgust evident in his tone. "I want to look away, but I can't."

"I thought Niall was straight," Harry said quietly to Liam, leaning towards him but keeping his eyes on Niall at all times.

"Bi," Liam said shortly. He was trying his best to look away, but it was just so un-Niall-like to be making out with anyone in public, let alone some guy he'd met about three minutes ago. Niall was a complete charmer, it came with the Irish lilt, self-confidence and cheeky grin, but as far as Liam could remember, he'd never seen Niall macking on anyone publicly. He'd lost count of the number of nights Niall had slipped out early, a guy or girl under his arm, but public displays of affection? Niall? No.

Louis was being uncharacteristically silent.

"No witty comment or judgemental eye-roll?" Zayn elbowed Louis in the ribs as he finally forced himself to stop staring at Niall and his conquest.

"Fresh out tonight," Louis said shortly. He was still staring at the couple.

"Let's get drinks," Zayn said, sliding out of the booth and hauling a reluctant Louis with him.

Silence hung at the table.

"So Niall's bi," Harry began, turning to Liam and focusing on him. "Louis is gay, I assume, Zayn is ..?"

"Louis only likes boys, Zayn only likes girls, Niall likes everyone," Liam reeled off. "It's a strange band."

Harry waited a beat before raising his eyebrows.

Liam's lips lifted into a smile. "I'm gay."

Harry nodded. "So how come you and Louis have never hooked up?"

Liam sat back and nursed his drink. "If we'd ever hooked up, I'd just be one in a list of Louis' exes. I much prefer being his friend," he explained slowly. "Beneath all the sarcasm and loud noise, Louis is just a giant teddy bear. His favourite drink is a cup of tea. He likes watching movies in his pyjamas and he wants to settle down and live happily ever after - with the right guy. But I only know that because we're friends, not ex-lovers. Although I'm sure Louis is great in bed, mostly because he tells me he is at least once a day and the walls in our flat are just too damn thin for my liking, I've got a much better deal by getting Louis as a friend for a lifetime."

"You're too adorable for words, Liam Payne," Harry murmured so softly that Liam wasn't sure he'd heard right.

"What about you, Harry? Straight, gay or bi?" Liam asked the question he'd been dying to ask since he'd first laid eyes on him. Not that it really made a difference because Harry wasn't interested, but he was still dying of curiosity.

Harry took a drink before setting his pint on the table. "I'm open to anything," he said slowly, lifting his gaze to watch Liam.

Liam wasn't sure he'd heard anything sound so hot as those four words coming from Harry Style's lips. He had to take a quick gulp of his own drink to ease the dryness in his throat and he could feel Harry's eyes still on him.

"Liam ..."

Whatever Harry had been about to say was lost because Louis fell against Harry, putting two pints down on the table. "What's the gossip?"

"It's your lucky night Louis," Liam said brightly, forcing his voice to project a cheerfulness he was far from feeling. "Turns out Niall isn't the only one in the group who likes boys _and_ girls."

Liam slid out of the booth as fast as he could and headed straight for Zayn who was still at the bar. "Hey, I think I'm going to take off," he said, letting the tiredness he was suddenly feeling seep through his voice.

Zayn nodded. "Give me a minute, I'll come with you."

Nodding, Liam watched Zayn take the two pints he'd just bought to the table where Louis and Harry were sitting close and laughing together. He watched Zayn explain, saw Louis wave goodbye and Harry just cock his head to the side and study him. Liam waved his hand once before tucking it in his jeans pocket. Harry didn't wave back, or smile. Zayn grabbed his jacket and headed back towards Liam.

"You wanna say goodbye to Niall?" Liam asked.

"Hell no," Zayn chuckled. "I'm not getting in the middle of that."

Liam glanced over to where Niall was still making out with the girl he'd picked up, but he had the odd feeling that Zayn's comment had a deeper meaning. Knowing that he'd get nothing out of Zayn unless he wanted to share, Liam shrugged and followed Zayn out of the club.

"Things good?" Zayn asked in that shorthand way he had as they turned towards home.

"Mostly," Liam said, shoving his hands in his jacket as they walked companionably slowly. "Gig went well."

"Couldn't have been better," Zayn agreed. "Harry's brilliant."

"Yeah, he is," Liam said quietly. "We lucked out with him."

"So what's going on with him and Louis?"

Liam lifted his shoulders and dropped them. "Not sure. I know Louis fancies the pants off Harry and Harry mentioned that he likes guys and girls, so it'll all probably end in tears."

Zayn frowned. "Just because it all went to shit with Ed doesn't mean that it'll happen again with Harry."

"True," Liam conceded. He was slowly resigning himself to waking up one morning to find Harry in Louis' bed and trying to pretend that it wouldn't matter to him.

He didn't fancy Harry. He _couldn't_ fancy Harry. Harry wasn't interested in Liam and that was just the story of Liam's life. He and Harry were just friends and that would have to be enough. Liam swore he was going to work on not running out whenever his stupid crush (that he didn't really have) kicked in and in time, he'd be as close to Harry as he was to the rest of the band and he'd forget all about the time he had a silly crush on his lead singer. It would just take a little time.

Or perhaps he'd just jump off a cliff or something.

"Hey, you okay?" Zayn asked, nudging him as they neared Zayn's place.

"Just tired," Liam sighed. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Zayn leaned in for a hug and Liam held onto him just a second longer than normal.

Zayn didn't say anything, just patted him on the back before headed off, leaving Liam to trudge back home, alone.

Waking up the next morning was unpleasant. Liam was a quick riser; once he was awake, he couldn't stay in bed and snoozing was a completely foreign concept for him.

But today, Liam couldn't force himself to get up. For once, he buried himself in his covers and laid there, listening out for any clue as to whether Louis was alone or ... not. Because if he wasn't, if Harry had stayed the night, Liam wanted to be forewarned. He wasn't leaving the safety and security of his bed without some kind of emotional protection.

He could hear his alarm clock ticking slowly. He started to count with it but lost his place around 438. There wasn't a sound in the house. Perhaps Louis wasn't even home.

But Liam didn't want to follow that thought.

Checking the time for the 439th time that morning, Liam threw back the covers, swung his legs around and sat up gingerly.

Still no sound.

He stood up, grabbed a pair of track bottoms and threw them on before opening his bedroom door slowly.

No sound.

When he emerged from the bathroom minutes later, he cocked his head as he waited in the hall.

Complete silence.

Smacking his hand against his own head, Liam headed for the kitchen. He was putting the whole situation out of his mind, starting now. Whatever happened, happened for a reason. If Louis and Harry were together, he'd be happy for them and move on. If they didn't get together, he'd be happy for them and move on. Either way, he needed to move on, stop focusing so much on those two idiots and find something else to distract him. Like Niall's odd behaviour. That was a much better use of Liam's mind.

He put the kettle on and placed bread in the toaster. He started humming as he grabbed a cup and a teabag, fetched the milk and butter from the fridge and his fingers followed the beat of his hum as he waited.

Five minutes later, he was furiously scribbling on an envelope he'd found, writing chords and humming together.

"Hey."

Liam nearly jumped out of his skin. Turning slowly, he forced his mouth to lift up into some semblance of a smile.

"Hey Harry." Liam felt a shooting pain through his chest. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, I was up before I heard you. Sounded good," Harry said, taking a seat. "Is that how you write songs?"

Liam flicked the kettle switch again and started buttering his now-cold toast. "Sometimes," he shrugged. "Sometimes a song just comes into one of our heads and it takes two minutes to get it down. Sometimes, one of us will have a melody and someone else will play a riff and after a day or two of tweaking, they merge into a good tune."

"I think it sounded like a hit," Harry teased.

Liam threw a smile over his shoulder. "Tea?"

Harry nodded and soon they were sharing breakfast together.

Liam refused to ask Harry about last night, so they discussed the new album, how many songs Liam and the boys had already written and how they went about recording the new album. Harry was fascinated and Liam found it incredibly endearing how interested Harry was in the process.

"Morning," Louis' face appeared through the doorway. "My head hurts."

"Figures," Liam said fondly as he held out the last dregs of his tea for Louis to gulp down before heading for the kettle. "More?"

"More please Li," Louis said fervently as he slumped in Liam's chair.

"Good morning sunshine," Harry said with a grin. "Sleep well?"

"Best night's sleep I've had in ages," Louis murmured.

Liam stiffened at the inference. Forcing himself to relax, he made Louis' tea and found two painkillers, placing them on the table for Louis before ruffling his hair.

"I'm going to shower, make sure you're alive and kicking in half an hour when the boys get here," Liam said mock-sternly.

"Oh yes, Niall," Louis raised his head and rolled his eyes. "Can't wait to hear all about how he got laid last night with the beautiful blonde."

"They went home together?" Liam asked, a little surprised but he wasn't quite sure why. Niall had taken girls home before plenty of times. And guys.

"Yeah," Harry answered him. "He was sucking on his neck most of the way home so I'm sure he'll be prettily bruised this morning."

Liam grinned and Harry grinned back. As he passed Harry to head for the bathroom, he reached out and ruffled Harry's hair, laughing at Harry's whining protest.

Yes, he could be friends with Harry. Just friends.

The boys made it over on time, but Niall was barely awake or aware of where he was. Liam took pity on him and dragged him into the kitchen, forcing two painkillers down his throat, followed by two glasses of water and fried eggs on toast. He then made sure to sit Niall next to him on the sofa as he strummed on his bass, showing Zayn the tune he'd been humming earlier. As Zayn messed around with the tune on the piano, Liam put his arm around Niall and hugged the boy close. Niall snuggled up to Liam, making noises of approval when Liam played with his hair.

"Love you Li," Niall muttered, keeping his eyes closed and head tucked into Liam's shoulder.

"We're going to talk later, Nialler, you've been warned," Liam whispered so only Niall could hear.

Niall hummed and Liam took it as agreement. Something was up with Niall and it was time for him to force the issue before Niall did something stupid. Even more stupid, he corrected himself with a wry smile.

He looked up and caught Harry staring at them. Liam rolled his eyes towards Niall and pulled a stupid face and he was foolishly pleased when Harry laughed quietly.

"You shouldn't baby him," Louis said grumpily from the depths of his armchair where he was quietly drumming his drumsticks against the arm.

"You're just jealous," Niall said, before sticking his tongue out at Louis.

"Well, yeah," Louis drawled, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "I'm suffering as well."

"I'm sure Zayn or Harry will cuddle you if you ask," Niall muttered. "Leave Liam alone, he's looking after me today."

"Oh, so you not only get laid, but you get Liam cuddles as well? That's hardly fair," Louis pouted. "You know he's the best at cuddling."

"Hey!" Zayn protested. "I cuddle."

"You suck at cuddling and you know it," Louis argued. "You're all elbows and awkward limbs."

"Well, you're definitely not getting a cuddle now," Zayn muttered, bending his arms so he could study his elbows.

Niall giggled, which just made Louis more cross. He stood up, managed to refrain from stamping his foot in temper and strode over to where Harry was lounging on the floor. Louis flopped onto the floor next to him and curled his body around Harry, much to Harry's surprise.

"Niall did warn you we were cuddlers," Liam said, amused at Harry's confusion. He tried not to focus on how Louis was wrapped around Harry, or how comfortable Louis looked, or how that was probably how they slept last night in Louis' bed, if they slept at all.

"Apparently not very good cuddlers," Zayn groused.

"Not me, I'm the best," Liam said smugly, being careful to keep his eyes away from the couple on the floor.

"Well, perhaps we all need to stop cuddling and start actually producing some songs," Zayn said, reaching out to sneak a hand under Niall and tickling him, laughing as Niall let out a loud whine in protest.

"I'll get up, but don't leave me," Niall clung to Liam, looking so pathetic that Liam could help but laugh. He pulled Niall to his feet and tugged him into the kitchen.

"We'll sort lunch and then we'll start a proper session," Liam called over his shoulder, determined to not be affected by the sight of Louis and Harry lying together on the floor, arms and legs entangled.

He dragged Niall into the kitchen, grabbed the bread and butter from the fridge and a knife and put them in front of Niall, ordering him to start buttering while Liam ran around fixing everything else before falling into the chair next to him.

"Alright, what's going on?" Liam asked bluntly.

Niall started to flush. "With what?"

"With you and that guy last night for starters, we'll work up to the rest," Liam said, softening his words by placing his hand comfortingly on Niall's arm.

"Fuck Li, I don't know," Niall sighed, slumping back in his chair. "I just wanted to feel close to someone, you know? Don't you miss having someone to cuddle every night and who wants to stroke your hair when you're ill and who laughs at all your stupid jokes?"

Liam felt his heart leap. "Yes, of course," he agreed. The only problem was that the only person he was interested in that way was sleeping with his best mate and flatmate. "But I don't think some guy you pick up at the pub is necessarily going to be that person."

"Probably not, but since the person I really want doesn't want me, it's all I've got," Niall said quickly before dropping his head into his hands and groaning. "Please don't ask me who, I feel shit enough about it already."

"Oh, Nialler," Liam commiserated as he leant forward and hauled Niall into his arms. "I know how you feel."

"You too?" Niall asked sadly, his voice muffled into Liam's shirt.

"It's nothing, I'm practically over it," Liam swore.

They stayed there locked together for a while before they pulled back, Niall swiping at his face with his sleeve and Liam grabbing plates before they called everyone in and the riot for food began.

Four hours later, and Liam declared time for a break. They'd managed to get three fairly good possibilities together for entire songs, Zayn and Liam had another three melodies ready for lyrics and Louis and Niall had written two love songs together that needed a softer melody than Zayn or Liam had come up with yet.

Harry had been quiet for most of the session, choosing to watch the process so that he could join in next time. He'd suggested a line or two for the lyrics and listened to Zayn and Liam argue over whether a chord should go high or low, siding with Zayn to Liam's annoyance.

"Thank God," Niall muttered, sprawled out on the sofa. "I think I might be dying."

"No chance," Louis reached over and poked him in the stomach, causing Niall to fold and groan. "You're not that lucky. God wants you to suffer for being a manwhore."

"Pot, kettle," Zayn said, grinning at Louis' outraged expression.

"Ha!" Niall chuckled, not opening his eyes.

"I will not take this abuse lying down," Louis declared, standing up and storming off to his bedroom.

"Uh, should I check he's okay?" Harry asked, slightly confused.

"No, that's what we call a drama tantrum, purely for show," Zayn explained. "You'll soon learn the difference between what we just witnessed and a real tantrum. There are tears, foot stamping, flinging bodies and usually a declaration of love or hate for Liam, depending on Louis' mood."

"Sounds exhausting," Harry said slowly.

"It can be," Liam confided, stretching out across the floor. "Is Niall asleep yet?"

Harry peered up onto the sofa. "Yeah, fast asleep."

"That boy can sleep anywhere," Zayn said, half-enviously. "I'm going for a smoke, back in ten."

Liam watched Zayn leave before curling up on the floor with a few cushions and closing his eyes with a sigh. God it had been a long day.

His eyes shot open when he felt a body flop down next to him and he found himself looking into dancing green eyes.

"Hey," he muttered. "What's up?"

"Well, all day I've been hearing about how good your hugs are and I've watched Niall curl around you because he needs someone to hold onto and I've listened to Niall and Louis argue over who gets your hugs," Harry said slowly as he stretched his long limbs out. "Makes a guy wonder just how good your hugs can really be."

"You think they're exaggerating?" Liam was slightly offended. "Fine, come here."

Liam opened his arms and immediately found them full of Harry, causing Liam to fall back slightly and leaving Harry half covering his body. Liam wanted to laugh but all he could think was how perfect Harry felt against him. He shifted so that he could get one arm around Harry's waist while the other reached up to stroke Harry's hair gently where Harry's head was resting on his shoulder. Harry's arms had somehow found themselves around Liam's neck and his face was turned towards Liam. Harry's legs were entangled with Liam's and it was probably the most comfortable Liam had ever felt in his life, lying on the hard floor with Harry wrapped around him.

He tried not to concentrate on how soft and silky Harry's stupid hair felt under his fingers. He tried not to think about how he could feel Harry's breath on his neck and he had to stop himself from shivering in response. He definitely didn't want to think about how his heart was racing or how easy it would be to shift slightly and place his lips on Harry's.

Liam could feel Harry's fingers digging into his back slightly and he tightened his own arms around Harry.

A soft sound escaped from Harry and Liam bit his lip. Hard.

"They weren't exaggerating," Harry said in his slow drawl.

"Told you," Liam murmured.

Harry just hummed.

Minutes later, Liam could tell Harry had fallen asleep by the even rise and fall of his chest and feeling brave, he stroked his hand up and down Harry's back, not bothering to hide his smile when Harry moaned a little and curled up closer. This was enough, Liam told himself. As contentment stole over him, he closed his own eyes and was soon fast asleep as well.

When Liam woke, he felt strangely bereft. Turning, he realised that not only was Harry no longer curled into his side, but Niall wasn't on the sofa and Zayn wasn't around either. Figuring that Zayn had most likely dragged Niall home when he came back in to find everyone asleep, Liam stretched and checked his watch. He'd only been napping for twenty minutes. Getting to his feet slowly, he headed for the kitchen in search of beer. On the way he glanced into Louis' room, realising that the door was now open so Louis was hopefully over his drama tantrum.

What he saw had Liam stopping dead in his tracks. Louis was standing in the middle of his room, facing the door. But he couldn't see Liam because there was someone standing between them. Harry.

Liam watched, his face draining of colour, as Louis lifted his hand to stroke Harry's cheek. Liam couldn't force himself to move as he saw Louis move forward and reach up to kiss Harry. On the mouth. He saw Harry's hands come up to hold Louis and suddenly Liam felt the urge to throw up, but he couldn't make himself move.

"Hey Li, what you staring at?"

Niall's words broke the spell Liam seemed to be under and he spun around to find Niall standing next to him, taking in the scene Liam had just managed to look away from. Liam watched Niall's expression freeze and he paled, even more than normal. But it was Niall's eyes that had Liam acting fast, sprinting out of his own shock.

"Uh, let's give these two some privacy, huh Niall?" Liam said, desperation colouring his voice. "Let's go to the bar. Hair of the dog."

Niall didn't seem to be able to speak, so Liam dragged him towards the front door and pushed him into the street, slamming the door behind them and hurrying Niall towards the bar. He didn't say anything, didn't speak one word until he'd sat Niall down in a booth and grabbed two pints from the bar before sliding in next to Niall.

"I had no idea you felt like that," Liam said quietly, finally breaking the silence.

"Don't know what you're talking about," Niall said at length, refusing to lift his gaze from the table, staring at his blank phone screen which appeared to be switched off.

"You're in love with Louis." Liam said it flatly, plainly.

"Fuck," was all Niall said but Liam could hear the hurt in the expletive.

"How long?" he asked, reaching out to sling his arm around Niall's hunched shoulders.

"Feels like forever," came the reply. "About two years?"

Jesus, Liam thought. And they'd never realised. Never considered it. Never even crossed his mind. "God Niall, I'm so sorry. I should have realised. Why didn't you say anything?"

"What's to say?" Niall asked miserably. He finally lifted his eyes to meet Liam's and then he seemed to just crumple, Liam gathering him into his arms. "Louis doesn't feel the same way. He's never even given me a thought. I waited and hoped. And I tried to date other people but they weren't Louis. I thought it would pass, over time. But here I am, heartbroken because yet again Louis is shagging someone else and there's nothing I can do to make Louis love me or want me."

Liam felt his heart breaking and he tugged Niall closer. It was easier to focus on Niall's pain, to comfort Niall through his heartbreak because he couldn't think about his own. He blocked the image of Louis and Harry kissing, couldn't bring himself to remember Harry lifting his hands to put them on Louis, refused to think about how he'd fallen asleep with Harry wrapped around him, feeling happier than he could ever remember feeling only to wake up and find Harry wrapped around his best mate. Because if he did think about it, if he remembered that moment his body shut down and he felt his heart shatter, then he wasn't sure he'd ever recover.

Because there was no denying it. Liam didn't just have a crush on Harry. Liam knew he had stupidly fallen head over heels in love with Harry, the boy he just couldn't have. He'd denied it for as long as he could, because who fell in love that quickly? Two weeks. Just two short, unbelievably amazing and heartbreaking weeks.

They stayed in the booth, not touching their drinks, just holding onto each other and whispering reassuring murmurs to each other until the call for last round sounded.

Niall dragged his feet all the way home, keeping his arm around Liam who stayed with him every step of the way. When they reached Niall's street, when Liam would normally break away and head home, Niall clung on.

"Stay with me," he asked pitifully.

Because Liam didn't want to be alone either, because he didn't want to go home and know that Louis and Harry were in the next room, probably having loud sex or even worse, something more intimate like _making love_ , because Liam couldn't face them yet and most of all because he'd never seen Niall look so awful, Liam nodded and led Niall to his house.

As they walked through the door, Zayn appeared, phone to his ear.

"They've just got in, talk to you later." He hung up the phone and threw it on the table.

"You okay?" Zayn's question was aimed at Niall. His expression was compassionate and Liam was unsurprised to find that Zayn knew about Niall's feelings.

"Let's get you to bed," Liam said gently to Niall. "It'll all be better in the morning."

"No it won't," Niall argued unhappily, but he let Liam lead him into his bedroom. "You'll stay with me?"

"Of course I will," Liam promised, running his hand over Niall's head soothingly. "I'm just going to talk to Zayn while you get ready for bed then I'll be in."

"Okay," Niall sighed, wrapping his arms around Liam and squeezing quickly before moving away. "Love you Li."

"Love you too Nialler," Liam whispered before stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Zayn was still in the hallway, a questioning look on his face. "Is he okay?"

"Not really," Liam sighed, rubbing his neck tiredly. "He's distraught. Heartbroken. Absolutely dying. Why didn't I see how he felt about Louis?"

"Don't beat yourself up," Zayn reached out and stroked Liam's arm in comfort. "I only found out a few months ago just before the whole Ed and Louis thing happened. Niall thought Ed and Louis were going to hook up because Ed had been confiding in Niall. He got absolutely wasted one night and when I carried him home, he was babbling on about loving Louis and how cute Louis was and how much Niall wanted to make out with him. It was enlightening, to say the least. Afterwards, he didn't say anything so neither did I. We haven't spoken about it since but when Louis starts flirting with a guy, Niall gets really cuddly with me so I let him."

"Shit," Liam let out a long breath. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know," Zayn admitted. "That was Louis on the phone. He's been trying to call Niall all night but it's just been going to voicemail. He's phoned me twelve times, Liam. Twelve."

"What does that mean?" Liam frowned, completely confused. He was pretty sure that there hadn't been enough time for Louis or Harry to really pay attention to how Niall reacted to that scene. And he'd had his back to them for most of it so they definitely hadn't seen his face, pale and shocked as it was, thank God. "Why would Louis be calling Niall?"

"He's been going frantic, completely off the scale of Tomlinson," Zayn said, running his hand through his messy hair. "I think ... I think maybe Niall's not the only one with feelings here."

"But he was all over Harry," Liam pointed out. There had been no mistaking what he'd seen, what Niall had seen. They'd been making out, and Harry had stayed the night in Louis' bed.

"To be honest Liam I don't know what the hell is going on with anyone, but I do know that I'm going to bed because I'm exhausted," Zayn sighed. "Go look after Niall. We'll figure it out in the morning."

Liam leaned forward and pulled Zayn into a quick hug. Zayn grinned as he headed towards his own bedroom. "Tomorrow is going to be crazy."

Liam silently agreed as he walked back into Niall's bedroom, peering around the door to make sure he wasn't going to accidentally walk in on Niall naked. He'd done that enough times to make sure he now knocked every time.

Niall was lying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He glanced over and smiled at Liam. "You didn't leave."

"Of course not," Liam said with an eye roll. "Promised I wouldn't."

He kicked off his shoes and socks and shuffled out of his jeans. He pulled off his top and grabbed the covers, slipping underneath and chuckling when Niall squealed as Liam's cold body came into contact with his.

"Stop being a baby, you wanted me to stay," Liam reminded him as he snuggled down and stretched out his arm so that Niall could rest his head on Liam. Closing his eyes, Liam let his fingers stroke through Niall's hair.

"My heart hurts, Li," Niall said quietly, so quietly that Liam had to strain to hear him.

"I know," Liam whispered. "Go to sleep. We'll figure it out in the morning."

Liam felt Niall drift off just past midnight. Sleep alluded Liam because every time he closed his eyes, he saw Harry reaching up for Louis. The tableau haunted him.

_"What do you mean, Liam's sleeping with Niall?"_

Liam opened his gritty eyes, blearily looking around to see Niall still asleep, curled up against him.

The next thing he knew, Louis was standing in the doorway, Niall's bedroom door flung back and the only thing Liam could register was the Louis looked terrible. His hair was unstyled, he'd clearly thrown on the first clothes he'd come across and nothing matched, and he looked like he hadn't slept all night.

Liam really didn't want to think why that would be.

"What the fuck, Liam!"

Liam winced as Louis' shout pierced his eardrums. He felt Niall stir and his first instinct was to protect him, so he curled his body around Niall and wrapped him in his arms.

"Louis, I think you need to calm down."

Liam couldn't stop his body from going rigid as he heard Harry's calm voice fill the room. He closed his eyes and wished he could be anywhere else but here, facing this.

"I'm not going to calm down!" Louis yelled and Liam could hear the wildness in his voice. Confused, he glanced down at Niall who was looking over Liam's shoulder with wide eyes and a slack jaw. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Liam slept with Niall last night." Liam grimaced as he heard Zayn speak in a suspiciously innocent and seemingly helpful tone.

"I can see that," Louis said through gritted teeth. "Why?"

"I can sleep with whoever I like," Niall said loudly, making Liam jump.

It was too early for all this yelling, Liam thought as he gave up trying to protect Niall, who no longer looked like he needed it, and slumped back against the pillows. Whatever was going on, he wanted no part of it and yet somehow he was right in the middle and he couldn't figure out why.

"Not Liam!" Louis yelled and Liam could hear some kind of scuffling. Glancing over, finally, he saw Louis being held back by Harry and Zayn. Zayn was grinning like he'd never had so much fun before and Harry, well, Harry just looked down. His gaze was fixed on Louis and Liam couldn't bear it, so he just closed his eyes again. Perhaps he could just fall asleep and have it all be over when he woke up.

"Why do you even care?" Niall asked and Liam could feel Niall lift up to lean on his arm and he imagined Niall's glare. "Why are you here, Louis? Why aren't you busy shagging Harry or something?"

Liam tried to erase that sentence from his memory.

"I'm here because I've been worried sick, you idiot," Louis said, his voice decidedly calmer but still pretty loud. "I care because I've always cared, you wanker. And I'm not shagging Harry because he's not you, you fucking tosser."

Liam's eyes shot open. He focused first on Niall, who looked like he'd been hit with a bus. Or perhaps five buses all at once. Then his gaze shot to Louis, who looked a bit sick. He couldn't stop himself from glancing at Harry, worrying about him. Harry was staring back to Liam, and he could swear Harry was looking anxious, which didn't really make any sense.

"I uh, perhaps we should let Louis and Niall talk," Liam finally spoke, his voice husky with sleep. He bent down, kissed Niall's head gently and murmured words of encouragement to the poor, shell-shocked boy. Then he climbed out of bed, ignoring Louis' huffs at what Liam could only assume was Liam's state of undress, yanked on his jeans and grabbed everything else before heading for the door. He paused next to Louis and waited for his friend to meet his gaze. "I love you. I love him. Break his heart and I'll never forgive you."

Liam shoved a stunned Louis into the bedroom and closed the door behind him.

"God it's too early for all this drama," he moaned, leaning against the door.

"Oh man, did you take that all in?" Zayn was looking gleeful. "They'll be shagging within ten minutes."

"So does Louis feel the same way Niall does?" Liam asked, wanted to be sure he understood the situation.

"Looks like," Zayn murmured.

"Well, that's a relief for Niall," Liam said slowly as he finally turned around to look for Harry.

As happy and giddy as Liam felt for his two friends, he couldn't forget that Harry was probably feeling pretty crappy right now. Harry had probably thought Louis was falling for him, he might already be in love with Louis right now, and Liam couldn't ignore that. No matter that his own heart was broken.

"Harry?" Liam stepped forward and reached out uncertainly towards him.

Without hesitation, Harry stepped towards Liam and he found himself enveloped in Harry's embrace. While Liam thought to comfort Harry, his arms were trapped underneath Harry and he couldn't move. tight as Harry's arms were. Liam sighed and just let himself enjoy the moment, enjoy having Harry this close, his whole body draped around him. He knew he shouldn't, but he buried his head into Harry's shoulder anyway, turning his head into Harry's neck and feeling his curly hair tickle against Liam's face.

Liam knew he should be consoling Harry, but it was just so comforting to be held for once when usually he's the one giving the comfort. And by Harry, who tied Liam's insides up in knots and apparently made him actually weak in the knees because Liam wasn't sure that he was even holding himself up anymore. He suspected that he'd slumped against Harry and that Harry was bearing his weight, but he had no interest in moving even one muscle in case it made Harry step back.

Eventually though they had to let go and as they started to move back, they both froze as they heard the unmistakable sounds of bed springs.

Their gaze met and they simultaneous burst into laughter.

"Let's get out of here," Harry suggested, grabbing Liam's hand.

Liam squeezed Harry's hand before letting go so that he could throw on his top, socks and trainers before he reached out and took Harry's hand again. He meant it as a sign of solace, but truth be told he just really wanted to hold Harry's hand, no matter what the reason.

He glanced around and realised Zayn had disappeared, so he gently pushed Harry towards the door and they snuck out, closing the door quietly behind them.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Harry asked quietly as they started walking, still holding hands.

"Niall and Louis?" Liam asked, glancing at Harry, who nodded, biting his lip. "I guess there was a lot going on that I didn't know about. I didn't know Niall had been in love with Louis for years before yesterday when we, uh, yeah. And I definitely didn't know Louis was going to react like that this morning. Bit of a shock all round, really."

"Are you okay with it?" Harry asked as they headed back to Liam's by silent consent.

"Am I okay with it? I think it's brilliant," Liam replied, a brilliant smile lighting up his face. "They're two of my best mates in the whole world and if they're happy together, I'm happy for them."

"So you and Niall ..." Harry trailed off, letting the meaning hang between them.

"Me and Niall?" Liam frowned as he tried to ... oh. "No! No, me and Niall have never. Would never. No, he was just heartbroken about Louis and ... uh, he just didn't want to be alone."

"Oh." Harry's tone was thoughtful. "Louis thought you two had, you know. Last night. He didn't sleep all night because he was so worried but Zayn swore he wouldn't let him in until Niall had some sleep. When he walked in and saw you two in bed, I thought he was going to fall apart. Collapse."

"And what about you?" Liam finally got up the nerve to ask. His hand felt clammy but Harry hadn't let go. They were almost at Liam's place and he fished in his pockets for his keys, not letting go of Harry's hand either.

"Uh, I can see why he thought you two had slept together," Harry admitted with a flush. "You looked cosy together."

"Niall's a cuddler," Liam said softly. "But that's not what I meant."

Harry cocked his head as he watched Liam unlock the front door. "What did you mean?"

"I meant are you okay with Louis and Niall?" Liam asked, pushing the door open and walking though, never letting go of Harry's hand. He wasn't sure why he didn't let go, it would make it easier to just release his hand but he couldn't, not until Harry let go first.

"I think they're perfect for each other," Harry said, following Liam into the bathroom and just grinning as Liam cocked his eyebrow in question. "Sorry, do you need some privacy?"

"No, just wanted to brush my teeth," Liam admitted with a wry grin. He grabbed his toothpaste and brush and finally had to let go of Harry's hand, but Harry just lowered the loo seat and sat, putting his feet up on the bath and leaning back.

Liam finished quickly and then turned towards the shower. "Uh, you staying there? I need to shower."

"I don't mind if you don't," Harry shrugged. "Haven't you showered in front of the boys before?"

Of course Liam had, but he'd never been in love with any of them.

On the other hand, he didn't want Harry to go, not when Harry seemed determined to stick by his side, for some reason. Perhaps he was feeling the loss of Louis, or perhaps he just needed a friend. Either way, Liam figured he could help.

"Shut your eyes until you hear the shower," he muttered, poking his tongue out at Harry when he laughed.

"Okay, okay, my eyes are shut, you prude."

Liam stripped quickly and got in the shower, yelping as the spray hit him cold and hard. He'd forgotten the shower ran cold to start with for a few seconds, but it soon heated up.

He was almost done when he turned around and saw Harry's face, appearing around the shower door.

"Jesus Harry, what the hell?"

"Just checking you were okay," Harry chuckled. "You weren't answering me."

"Can't hear you over the spray," Liam yelled, turning back and trying to pretend that he wasn't blushing because he was naked and Harry was looking at him.

He finished quickly and grabbed a towel, managing to cover himself without too much of a blow to his dignity before stepping out and heading to his bedroom. He was unsurprised to find Harry following him.

"So, you wanted to know if I was okay with Niall and Louis," Harry picked up where they'd left off, as if Harry hadn't just been staring at Liam naked and was sitting on his bed, looking up expectantly at Liam in just a towel, drops of water glistening off his body and hair wet while he contemplated getting through the next five minutes with as little embarrassment as possible.

Not succumbing to his hard on was the first problem.

"Thing is, I think you've got the wrong idea about me and Louis," Harry said quietly, his gaze dropping to Liam's duvet and he reached out to smooth his hand across it.

Liam took his chance to drop the towel and get his boxers on while Harry was distracted. Relieved, he yanked on a pair of jeans and snapped them up before turning to take a seat next to Harry.

"The wrong idea?" he prompted.

"I know what you think you walked in on," Harry said, lifting his gaze to stare at Liam.

Liam was finding it difficult to concentrate, with Harry looking at him so intently.

"I slept on your sofa two nights ago," Harry said, reaching out to hold Liam's hand, placing it in his own and letting it just rest there. "Louis tried to get me into bed but I just don't feel that way about him. Which is a good thing, because it turns out he's been in love with his best friend all along."

Liam's lips lifted as he answered Harry's grin. His heart was beating fast. Too fast.

"And yesterday, Louis was being grumpy so I was trying to cheer him up when he just lunged at me, kissing me. I was too stunned to move, and just as I was about to push him away, I heard Niall and Louis was pulling away and by the time I'd turned around, you were pushing Niall out of the house and Louis had sunk to the floor and was hyperventilating. I didn't know what to do so I yelled for Zayn and he calmed Louis down but by that point, you were gone and neither of you were picking up your phones."

Liam realised absently that he hadn't checked his phone since yesterday afternoon. He should probably do that at some point.

"So that's what happened," Harry said, his gaze fixed on Liam.

"Oh," was all Liam could say. His heart was racing and he was trying to figure out what Harry was trying to tell him, but all he could concentrate on was that Harry hadn't slept with Louis, didn't fancy Louis and Harry was just a few inches away, sitting on his bed and Liam was half naked and half hard and he thought he might explode from all the confusing feelings he was experiencing.

"I don't fancy Louis," Harry said firmly. "Actually, I like someone else."

It was like a bucket of cold water being thrown on his face, Liam thought detachedly. He jumped up so fast that Harry jerked back and Liam could see the confusion on his face.

"Oh, that's nice," Liam managed to say as he struggled into a top. "I'm pleased for you."

"You are?" Harry's voice conveyed his bewilderment.

"Sure, of course I am. Girl or guy?" Liam forced himself to sound cheerful.

"Uh, a guy," Harry said slowly.

"He's a lucky guy, Harry," Liam said, smiling through his pain. Great. Just when he thought he had a shot, when Harry had said he didn't fancy Louis, he throws _someone else_ at him. It wasn't fair on Harry for Liam to feel betrayed, because it's not like Harry is his, or will ever be his, but Liam couldn't help it. "You'll have to introduce us to him."

Which is the last thing Liam would ever want and yet he couldn't stop the words from coming out of his stupid mouth. Groaning internally, he headed towards the kitchen.

"You had breakfast?"

"Uh yeah," Harry called out. "I'm just going to go for a walk, I'll be back in a bit, yeah?"

"Okay!"

Liam waited to hear the door slum shut before slumping to the floor against the kitchen cupboard, head falling into his hands.

He was still there, not moving, when Louis strolled into the kitchen, hand-in-hand with Niall. Liam slowly looked up, his face breaking into a grin as he saw them. Niall was flushing but his hand was gripping Louis' tightly and Louis just looked smug.

"What you doing on the floor, Liam?" Louis asked as they stood in the kitchen doorway.

"What are you doing out of bed, Louis?" Liam countered, unwilling to answer the question.

"Some of us aren't slaves to our physical urges, Liam," Louis responded, his arm curling around Niall and bringing him closer.

"Run out of condoms?" Liam grinned.

"Fuck you," Louis replied, but his smile gave him away.

"Did Harry go home?" Niall asked, snuggling up to Louis and tucking his head onto his shoulder.

Liam wasn't sure he'd seen a more adorable sight in his entire life.

"Not sure, he said he was going for a walk." Liam shrugged. "But it's okay, because he's not dying of unrequited love for Louis."

"Of course he isn't," Louis said as if Liam had said something stupid. "He's in love with someone else."

"Yeah, he mentioned something about that." Liam turned and grabbed a bowl and poured in some cereal and milk before tucking in. It distracted him from his second heartbreak in two days. He wasn't sure he could feel any worse and yet pretend to be so happy. He _was_ happy for Louis and Niall, but he wasn't too proud to admit that he was jealous as hell and he could feel a dark mood settling over him as he thought about Harry being _in love_ with someone else. It was bad enough when Harry had admitted to liking someone, but being in love was serious . "If you two are gonna spend the day in bed, give me fair warning to get the hell out."

"Okay, that's fair," Louis nodded. "Get the hell out."

Laughing around his mouthful of cereal, Liam headed for his bedroom. "Give me five minutes."

"Can't promise anything buddy!" Niall's call had Liam speeding up as he pulled on his converse and grabbed a jacket.

He dumped his empty bowl in the sink and picked up his phone and keys. As he passed Louis' door, he heard Niall ask who Harry's new guy was.

Liam slammed through the front door before he could hear the answer, because the last thing he wanted to know what the name of Harry's next boyfriend.

Oh god. The thought of Harry kissing someone else in front of him. Hugging and touching and being all cute and ... Liam felt sick.

He felt sick for the next four weeks whenever Harry walked into the room. Every time he was convinced Harry was going to dance into the room and announce he was seeing someone and then Liam would have to move far away, perhaps to another country altogether, because no matter what he did, he couldn't seem to get past this thing with Harry.

Two things were making the whole situation harder. Firstly, Louis and Niall were in their honeymoon phase, making faces at each other and sneaking kisses and hugging and running off to have some alone time whenever they could. The second thing was Harry himself. For the past four weeks, Harry had seemingly decided that Liam was his own personal teddy bear to cuddle whenever he wanted. When he arrived in the morning, he went straight to Liam for a morning cuddle and he never forgot to plant a sloppy kiss on Liam's flushed cheek before moving away. Liam wasn't the only one to get a morning hug, but he was the only one Harry kissed. When they were lounging around and throwing lyrics and tunes around, Harry always found his way next to Liam and wriggled against him until Liam lifted his arm and Harry could snuggle up to him. When they made it to the studio, finally, and they spent hours waiting around while each member of the band made their contributions, Harry spent most of those hours lying on Liam.

Liam was finding it harder and harder to keep his hands to himself. Each time Harry came near, Liam itched to put his hands on Harry's hips, his arm, his face, his hair, his leg. He found himself reaching for Harry all the time, but so far he'd managed to stop himself in time. He never complained about Harry's attention, because he loved it and yet he was so confused by it.

When Zayn made a comment one day in the studio along the lines of "Are you two joined at the hip or what?", Harry had simply shrugged and told Zayn that he was jealous because Niall and Louis were cuddling and Harry was getting Liam cuddles and Zayn would have to get up earlier if he wanted cuddles.

Zayn's answer was to roll his eyes.

Liam tugged Harry closer and grinned when Harry's hands crept around his waist and held onto his shirt.

When he caught Zayn's questioning look, Liam immediately tried to school his face into a more serious expression but he was sadly aware that he probably just looked sheepish.

Sure enough, as they left the studio that evening, happy to have finished all their recording and discussing where they could go to celebrate, as if they would end up anywhere other than the bar, Zayn seized the opportunity given to him by Harry, who was talking to Niall and Louis about guitar riffs and how crazy good they sounded on the last song they recorded, and sidled up to Liam, tucking his hand into Liam's arm and pulling him back a little so that they were out of earshot of the rest of the band.

"Spill."

"Spill what?" Liam attempted his most innocent looking face but he knew Zayn wasn't buying it.

"What's going on with you and Harry?" Zayn asked, giving Liam a bit of a shove.

"Can we not do this?" Liam begged, keeping his eyes firmly ahead to make sure the boys didn't slow down and hear them.

"Absolutely not," Zayn said firmly. "You like him. And he likes you."

"He doesn't like me, at least not like that," Liam said and he attempted a cheerful smile but Zayn just stared at him and Liam's face crumpled. "Jesus Zayn, what the fuck is wrong with me? Harry's told me he likes someone else. Louis told me Harry loves someone else. You'd think I'd get a clue, stop thinking about him like that and find someone else."

Zayn lifted his arm and wrapped it around Liam, who gratefully leant into him.

"Liam, are you sure? Because Harry sure acts like he likes you," Zayn lowered his voice and turned his head so that his lips were close to Liam's ear, wary of being overheard. "He's always touching you and kissing you."

Liam shrugged sadly. "I'm sure, Zayn. Harry's just a big cuddler, like Niall. You know how much Niall likes to be touched, except now he has Louis so Harry uses me. It's not like I hate it or anything."

"It's not good for you if you like him so much though," Zayn warned, his concern evident.

"You can be my Harry shield," Liam teased, reaching over to tickle Zayn's stomach, which he knew Zayn hated because it was his ticklish spot. Sure enough, Zayn growled and shoved Liam's hand away but didn't let go as they slowly caught up to the other boys.

"I'll do my best," Zayn agreed, but he didn't sound convinced.

Three hours later and Zayn had all but given up. After too many rounds to count, they were all wasted, even Zayn. Niall and Louis had long since retired to their own booth to make out and generally be disgustingly loved up. Zayn had tried to keep Harry entertained but when he'd gone to get a round in, Harry had moved closer to Liam, snuggling up to his side and complaining loudly until Liam lifted his arm and Harry could tuck in next to him, just as he liked, and Harry hadn't moved since. He'd listened to Zayn and Liam argue over what song should be the first release on the album and he'd discussed the pros and cons of acoustic sets with Zayn.

Liam was really buzzing when he'd started stroking Harry's arm aimlessly, not even really noticing until he felt Harry shiver against him. He'd apologised and moved his hand away but Harry hadn't let him move his arm.

It was two rounds later when he felt Harry's hand on his thigh and Liam enjoyed the sensation of Harry's touch too much to care about why his hand was there or why Liam should probably remove it.

And when Harry started to move his hand, stroking Liam's leg gently with his surprisingly large hands, Liam knew he had to stop him. But it just felt so fucking good and his slightly fuzzy brain couldn't come up with a single reason to stop feeling so fucking good.

Liam's head dropped onto Harry's shoulder as Harry carried on talking to Zayn.

"Tired?" Harry paused to ask, turning slightly and his breath tickled Liam's neck. Liam couldn't control the shiver it caused and he noticed idly that Harry's eyes widened just a bit.

"Yeah. S'long day." Liam's voice sounded a little thick to his own ears and he grabbed the glass of water Zayn had put in front of him a few drinks back.

"Walk you home?" Harry offered and Liam lifted his head to grin dopily at him.

"Yes please," he sing-songed, laughing when Harry grinned back.

"Just let me tell the boys and I'll come back for you," Harry promised. He stood up and Liam groaned at the loss of Harry's touch but it only took Harry a minute to explain to the others, who all took one look at Liam before muttering 'lightweight' under their breath. Liam could feel Zayn's eyes on him but Liam just waved happily and let Harry lead him out of the bar.

The fresh air sobered Liam up slightly but he let Harry slip his arm around his waist and they walked companionably together, giving up any hopes of walking in a straight line and just trying to avoid anything that would cause injury if they hit it.

"You're a nice person, Harry Styles," Liam announced as they neared Liam's house.

Harry gripped him a little tighter. "Thanks. You're not so bad yourself, Liam Payne."

"How is it you're single?" Liam asked, too inebriated to notice that Harry had stiffened.

"S' complicated," Harry's voice slurred slightly as they weaved towards his front door and watched as Liam fumbled around for his keys.

Liam rolled his eyes as he finally found them and spent a good five minutes trying to fit them into the lock, ignoring Harry's laughter as each time he tried to line up the key the lock, he somehow missed. "It can't be that complicated Harry," Liam said firmly as he finally managed to unlock the door with a crow of delight. "You're gorgeous and funny and sweet and thoughtful and you're really good at singing. Who wouldn't want to date you?"

Harry paused as he helped Liam into the kitchen and dropped him onto a chair. He poured Liam a glass of water and forced him to drink it, pouring himself one as well before he dragged Liam into the front room and shoved him onto the sofa as Harry collapsed next to him.

"I think you're drunk, Liam," Harry murmured as he snuggled closer.

"I think you might be right, Harry," Liam agreed, letting his hand drift up to ruffle Harry's hair, letting his fingers linger through the curls.

Harry's hand found its way back onto Liam's thigh and Liam sighed blissfully.

"How drunk are you?" Harry whispered softly as his hand started to move up and down as it had in the bar.

"I think I'm sobering up," Liam admitted, gesturing to the water on the table.

"Good," Harry muttered before he jumped up and straddled a surprised Liam. "Because I'm just drunk enough to do this."

He leaned in and captured Liam's lips under his. Shocked, Liam didn't move, didn't react. But having Harry this close, kissing him, he forgot about all the reasons he should push Harry off, not least because Harry was using Liam to forget about the guy who didn't want him and Liam really didn't want to be a substitute but it was _Harry_ kissing him. Liam let out a groan as his body jerked into awareness, gathering Harry closer and suddenly Liam stopped caring about anything other than the unexpected bliss of Harry kissing him.

His hands closed around Harry's hips and he dragged Harry closer, gasping as he pressed against Liam's cock, which was already hard. Harry let out a breathless chuckle as he ground against Liam and Harry's hands gripped Liam's face as he pressed quick kisses against Liam's mouth until Liam opened up and Harry dived in, tongues clashing as Harry pushed harder against Liam's body.

Liam's hands moved until they were flat against his back and that wasn't close enough so they slipped under Harry's top and the sound of Harry's groan was a trigger of sorts for Liam because he reached down and started dragging Harry's top off and Harry was trying to unbutton Liam's shirt but his fingers weren't working properly. Once Liam had Harry shirtless, he helped Harry with the buttons, stealing kisses in between and he was just desperate to feel Harry's skin against his own. When they finally succeeded and Harry pushed the shirt against Liam's shoulders¸ yanking it off him, Liam's hands return to Harry's back and he pulls him closer, reaching up to kiss him again. Liam thought he would never get enough of Harry's mouth. It was just so kissable and Harry looked even hotter when his lips were all red and slightly bruised from Liam's kisses that Liam couldn't resist him.

Liam leaned back as Harry lunged forward and started kissing his neck, nibbling and sucking his way down Liam's collarbone and Liam lost all rational thought. His trembling hands reached for Harry's fly and then he was pushing a whining Harry off him so he could get his jeans down and Harry was pulling Liam's jeans down until they were both in their boxers. Liam stared at Harry's body, admiring the lean muscle before reaching out to touch and suddenly he was trying to touch Harry everywhere, anywhere and all he could see was Harry and all he could feel was Harry and all he could breathe was Harry. He felt Harry's hands racing across his back and chest and he was so full of Harry that he couldn't focus and his hands were trembling.

With his last remaining bit of willpower, Liam pushed back slightly. "Harry ..."

"Shh," was all Harry murmured and then he was dragging Liam into his bedroom. "Don't think."

Liam had no trouble not thinking, he could barely focus he was so hard. They tumbled onto his bed, Harry muttering about how gorgeous Liam's body was, planting kisses all down Liam's chest until he reached his boxers. Liam lifted his hips and Harry grinned as he pulled them off and closed his hand around Liam's cock. He squeezed gently, hearing Liam's gasp before he settled into a steady rhythm. Liam leaned back and felt a shudder run through his body. He reached down and stroked Harry's hair and Harry's hands got faster and firmer and soon Liam felt himself stiffen before he came hard over Harry's hand. He glanced down to see Harry smile a little smugly before licking his hand clean.

Overcome, Liam reached down and dragged Harry back up so that he could kiss him, bitter and wet. Tongues clashed as Liam felt Harry rubbing against him and he smiled his own smug smile that Harry was so hard and desperate for him that he was rutting against Liam's hips.

He flipped them both so Harry was underneath him and Liam just stared down into Harry's green eyes. Harry looked wild with want and yet he was lying there, passive, waiting for Liam to move. Undone with love, Liam slowly lowered himself until he could slide his lips across Harry's in a gentle kiss. Liam felt his heart start to race as he felt Harry shudder beneath him and let out a little mewl that had Liam moving fast down Harry's body, pulling his shorts off until he could close his lips around Harry's cock.

He heard Harry gasp and all Liam wanted to do was make Harry come undone in the same way he'd done for Liam. He let his lips slide down the length of Harry's cock and then moved back up, licking and sucking and using his hands to keep Harry's hips still because he was a wriggler. Liam moaned as Harry reached down to stroke his hair, just as Liam had and he glanced up to see Harry watching him with lidded eyes, the strain on Harry's face evident as he tried to hold on. Liam winked as he moved faster and saw Harry fall back, his hand dropping from Liam's onto the bed and grabbing the sheets to hold on. Liam felt Harry was close and he reached out, covering Harry's fisted hand with his own and then he felt Harry explode and he opened his throat to suck and finish the job.

When Harry collapsed back, completely spent, Liam slowly kissed his way back up Harry's body and fell back against the bed next to him. Harry turned and curled into him instinctively, Liam bringing him closer and tucking Harry's head onto his shoulder.

He'd worry about tomorrow when they woke up. Right now, with Harry wrapped around him, he couldn't remember being so at peace, so content. It was worth almost anything, this feeling.

Liam woke up with a groan, his head was spinning and he felt rough. Opening his eyes slowly, he saw that he was alone in his bed. Not knowing whether it was worse to wake up and face Harry or to wake up and realise that Harry regretted last night so much that he left without a word, Liam sat up and let his head fall into his hands.

He'd fucked up. He'd been so desperate for Harry, so desperate to get closer and let his body express all the feelings he'd kept bottled up that he hadn't protested when Harry, probably drunk and vulnerable and needy because he couldn't be with the person he wanted to be with, used Liam as a stand-in. And now it was going to be awkward and tense because Harry probably thought that Liam would want more, which he did but he lived in the real world so he knew it couldn't happen, but ... fuck.

He climbed out of bed slowly and jumped in the shower, feeling his hangover ebbing slightly as the hot spray cascaded down his body. When he emerged, dressed and still feeling awful about the mind-blowing handjob he'd received and the mind-fucking, drugging kisses that he couldn't forget, he headed to the kitchen and made breakfast, all the while trying to force the memories out of his head because he thought he might go mad with need if he let himself.

Well, he'd been right. It was awkward and tense and horrible. The first time he'd seen Harry, Liam hadn't been able to look him in the eye while they lounged around Zayn and Niall's flat. Harry hadn't draped himself around Liam, like he'd been doing recently and they barely spoke. The second time, when they started practicing for a gig the next evening, Liam stood to the side and didn't move towards Harry once, as he'd gotten into the habit of doing when they performed, Harry singing at Liam and Liam playing for Harry, bouncing off each other and feeding off each other's energy.

Basically, it hadn't gotten any better over the past two weeks, with Liam refusing to look at Harry and Harry standing as far away from Liam as he could manage.

Liam saw the looks shared between Zayn, Niall and Louis, but thankfully they'd kept their questions and thoughts to themselves while Liam wallowed in misery. They were gigging most nights now, getting back into the swing before they released their next single which would set off a new round of promotions, gigs and interviews. The boys were living in each other's pockets, which delighted Louis and Niall, who were adorably inseparable, annoyed Zayn because he liked having space now and again and was having a terrible effect on Liam and Harry, who were both looking paler and more drawn as the weeks went by. Liam wasn't sleeping well because every time he closed his eyes in bed, he imagined Harry leaning over him, smiling and touching him and Liam couldn't bear it.

It came to a head when they were at the bar, because where else would they be? Liam had nursed a single drink all night, slowly getting more and more morose as he watched Harry laughing and teasing Niall and Louis while Zayn kept him company.

Somehow, Harry ended up sitting next to Liam which they'd managed to avoid since that night.

"So, are you two going to stop being dicks and be friends again?" Louis said bluntly as he watched them awkwardly avoid touching each other which was almost impossible because of the lack of space around the table.

"Shut up, Louis," Liam muttered as his hand accidentally brushed against Harry's arm and he felt Harry jerk away as if Liam had burned him.

"Don't know what you're talking about," Harry said innocently as he hesitated before slinging his arm around Liam.

Liam froze.

"I'm talking about the fact that you two haven't spoken, haven't looked at each other, haven't interacted at all for the past two weeks," Louis said as if Harry was stupid for thinking that they hadn't noticed. "What the hell happened?"

"Leave it, Louis," Harry murmured, his voice dropping slightly.

"Oh, get bent," Louis brushed him off. "You two totally hooked up, didn't you?"

Liam's eyes went wild and he wrenched himself away from Harry's touch, which had become unbearable.

"It was nothing," Harry repeated stonily.

Liam's head whipped round and he stared at him. He had no idea how pained his face looked, how terrible his eyes were. Nothing?

"Liam." Harry's voice sounded like it was breaking but Liam couldn't focus on anything except Harry saying that the best night of Liam's entire life was 'nothing'. He couldn't do this. He couldn't pretend everything was okay when his heart was breaking for what felt like the hundredth time in two weeks. He shoved at Harry's arm and pushed him back until Liam could get out of the booth because Liam was so much stronger and he almost ran out of the door, starting to run as soon as he felt the fresh air hit him.

 _Nothing_. Harry's voice repeated in his head over and over again and Liam ran until he could block it out. Slowing to a walk, he eventually turned back home.

As he turned into his street, he could see someone sitting on his front door step. Frowning, he took in the curly mop of the bent head and sighed, figuring that they really needed to sort everything out if they were going to continue to be a band. He wasn't entirely sure how that would work, since he was stupidly in love with a boy who didn't want him, and now he was beginning to understand the whole Ed/Louis situation a lot better than he had before.

He paused, waited to Harry to look up and Liam's heart skipped as he realised that Harry looked awful. He was even paler than usual, his eyes looked too dark, too shadowed, and his hair was all over the place, too tangled to be styled.

"Liam," was all Harry said, his voice croaky and unsteady.

Liam just stared at him. "What are you doing out here?"

"Waiting for you," Harry said, standing up and brushing down his jeans. He shoved his hands in his pockets and shuffled a bit. "Louis is staying at Niall's tonight. He gave me his key but I couldn't use it. Didn't feel right."

Liam said nothing.

"Can I come in?" Harry asked, his voice wavering a little.

"I guess," Liam said a little gruffly. He really wasn't sure it was a good idea to be alone in the house with Harry but they had to clear the air and now was as good a time as any.

Harry headed for the sofa and waited for a reluctant Liam to sit next to him. "Please Liam," he pleaded and Liam gave in.

"I'm sorry about what I said," Harry said in a rush as if he'd been waiting to say the words forever. "Louis was just being nosy and I wanted him to shut up because I couldn't even talk to you about that night, let alone Louis and the others."

"Don't worry about it," Liam said, pretending a breeziness he didn't, couldn't feel. "Really, it doesn't matter.

"It _does_ matter because I think we've got some major crossed wires between us," Harry insisted, reaching out to grab Liam's hands and hold tight as Liam tried to pull away. "Liam, that night didn't mean nothing to me."

"Harry, please, I don't want to talk about it," Liam begged, refusing to look up and meet Harry's earnest gaze.

"We have to talk about it because Zayn shouted at me when you ran off and I didn't understand why he was shouting but then I understood and I came straight here. But you weren't in so I waited for hours and now you're here and I'm going to keep talking until you understand," Harry said in one breath.

"Understand what?" Liam asked, completely confused as to why Zayn had been shouting at Harry.

"I should start at the beginning," Harry sighed, letting go of one of Liam's hands so he could run his fingers through his messy hair before capturing his hand again. "When I walked into the audition, I knew who you were. I'd bought your first album and had it on repeat for months. I'd been to a couple of your gigs and there was something about the guy on the bass that had me captivated."

Liam's eyes shot up. Harry held his gaze steadily, squeezing Liam's hands gently. "When I walked into the audition, I was terrified. Partly because of the whole stage fright thing and partly because I was in the same room as you and my heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest. You were so nice when you could see I was nervous and then when I finished, you winked at me and I think I fell in love."

"Harry?" Liam leaned forward, his eyes darting across Harry's face as if trying to determine the truth of his words.

"Silly, huh?" Harry laughed lightly but Liam could see the trepidation in his eyes. "Then when we started rehearsing, I never wanted to leave because I just wanted to be here, with you, making music. But you didn't seem as friendly, so I hung out with Louis and just waited until I could make you see how amazing I was and how quickly you'd fall in love with me, if you would just give me a chance.

"When we went out for drinks, when Louis got hammered and you carried him home, I thought we were getting somewhere but then you got all weird again and I didn't know why."

"Girl at the bar," Liam muttered. Off Harry's look, Liam repeated it, a bit louder. But he didn't explain. Harry just looked thoughtful before he turned back to the story. "On the way home, you gave me a long speech about how band relationships didn't work and I was mortified because I thought you'd figured out about my crush on you and you were trying to tell me that you weren't interested. But then I figured I would just wear you down by flirting so I turned up early the next day and initiated any and every touch I could."

Liam didn't want to interrupt so he just let his fingers interlace with Harry's. Harry looked down and smiled and Liam melted a little.

"That first gig, God I was terrified Liam," Harry admitted. "So nervous I threw up and you came in to comfort me and I was so scared and wanted you so badly that instead of throwing myself at you, I froze and you left so quickly. I tried to follow you but I walked in on you hugging Niall and I was so pissed at myself because I realised that it should have been me hugging you, not Niall, but I'd messed up. So when we bundled into that pre-show huddle, I grabbed your hand and instead of holding a grudge, because you're incapable of it, you held my hand and my nerves disappeared."

"I thought you were trying to grab Louis' hand," Liam admitted softly.

Harry rolled his eyes good-naturedly at him. "As if. Then it seemed like I couldn't get near you. Every time I tried, I felt like you were pushing me at Louis. But every now and again, you'd let me closer, like when we cuddled for the first time and we fell sleep together. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Then the whole misunderstanding thing with Louis and me happened but we've already talked about that, but what I didn't tell you was how shitty that whole night was. Louis was speed-dialling Niall every two minutes, sometimes leaving messages, or texting and I didn't know what to do because I was worrying that you'd seen us and gotten the wrong idea, which you had but I didn't know that for sure at the time."

"We sat in the bar all night and just hugged each other," Liam confessed, rubbing his thumb across Harry's hand and smiling softly when Harry shuffled a little closer. "Harry, I don't -"

"Hey, let me finish first, okay?" Harry asked and he looked so adorable that Liam had to force himself not to lean forward and kiss him. Instead, he just nodded but the beam on his face had Harry laughing.

"Zayn obviously knew that Niall was in love with Louis and I think he had some kind of masterplan to make Louis jealous and realise that he liked Niall too, because he kept going on about how close you and Niall were and wasn't it sweet that if me and Louis were a couple, then maybe Niall and Liam would become a couple and everyone could go on double dates and stuff like that and while it was driving Louis absolutely crazy, inside I was dying because I didn't want you to go on dates with Niall, I wanted you to go on dates with me and I wanted you to snuggle me, not Niall or Louis or Zayn and I wanted all of you and I didn't want to share you." Harry finally took a breath, eager to get everything out in the open.

"When we walked in and saw you two in bed, waking up, I thought Louis was going to go crazy, but luckily he held it together long enough. But there was a second when we looked in when I thought that I was too late, that you'd slept together and you were going to be a couple and get married and I'd completely lost my chance," Harry whispered. "But then you shoved Louis into Niall's room and you looked happy for them and I realised that you were just being a really good friend and I'd never been so relieved in my life. When you reached for me, you looked so sad because you thought I was heartbroken and I just wanted to wrap myself around you, so I did and I thought my heart was going to explode because I thought I'd lost you but there you were, reaching out to me to make sure _I_ was alright. Then when we walked home, you held my hand the entire way and I was so happy that I just wanted to skip the entire way, but then when I finally told you that I didn't like Louis, I liked someone else, you moved away and Jesus I just wanted to disappear. I thought you were telling me again that you didn't want me, but then you asked whether it was a guy or girl and I realised that you didn't have a clue. I went for a walk to clear my head and I decided that I'd just hang off you until you realised that it was you I wanted, you I liked."

"I'm going to let you finish," Liam said slowly, "but I just really need to do this."

He leaned forward, closing the gap between them and placed his lips over Harry's. He watched Harry's eyelids flutter down but he kept the kiss gentle, calming, affirming. He felt like his heart was going to burst with happiness. Drawing back, he smiled adorably up at Harry, who lifted his hand to cup Liam's cheek and stroke it.

"Jesus, Liam," he sighed. "I needed that too."

"Now hurry up and finish because I think I'm going to like the ending," Liam grinned up at Harry, leaning his head into Harry's hand.

"So I spent the next few weeks hanging off you, cuddling and kissing your cheek and basically driving myself crazy by being so close to you but not able to touch you how I wanted to, or kiss you how I wanted to," Harry said with a sigh. "Then we finished the album and we got drunk and I had drunk enough to find the courage to kiss you, figuring that if you pushed me away, I could just blame it on the alcohol but hoping that you wouldn't. You kissed me back and my brain just switched off. I'd been waiting so long for you that I just lost my head and practically dragged you to bed. Liam, that night wasn't nothing. It was probably the most important night of my life and I've never felt that close to someone before. But when I woke up in the morning, I freaked out because I convinced myself that you were going to hate me and blame it on the alcohol so I left, which is possibly the stupidest thing I've ever done."

"Wow, Harry," Liam stared at him. "That's the most I've ever heard you talk."

"It was important," he shrugged. "You needed to know. Zayn told me tonight that you liked me and then I realised that I'd completely messed everything up. I needed to tell you everything, because I can't deal with you looking at me like you did tonight. I need that to never happen ever again, okay?"

Liam just leaned forward, gently placing his hands on Harry's cheeks and kissed him like he'd been wanting to kiss him since forever.

It was hot and wet and perfect.

Harry moved back first, letting out a little laugh as he ran his hands up and down Liam's arms. "So basically, the short version of that is I love you and I want everything, anything, whatever you can give, I want it. If you want it."

"Harry, I've been in love with you since forever and I don't think I'll ever stop," Liam said earnestly. chuckling as Harry pulled him into a giant bear hug.

"Jesus, I didn't think I'd ever hear you say that," Harry murmured against Liam's ear.

"Me neither," Liam said softly, wrapping himself around Harry tightly.

"We're going to be disgustingly adorable, you know that right?" Harry whispered. "Because I don't think I'm going to be able to stop myself from touching you all the time, kissing you all the time and wanting to drag you off to bed all the time, now that I'm allowed to."

"No arguments from me," Liam agreed, jumping up and pulling Harry towards his bedroom. "So when you said you wanted everything I can give ..."

It took Harry a second but he burst out laughing, swiping at Liam as they closed the bedroom door and Liam started sucking on Harry's neck, grinding against him and smiling happily when he felt Harry's instant reaction. "Liam, you're everything I ever wanted."

"And you're everything I'll ever need," Liam replied before reaching up to capture Harry's lips in an exquisite kiss.


End file.
